


Vitamins

by NikaV



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, Post-Episode: s04e17-e18 The End of Time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:34:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22352686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikaV/pseuds/NikaV
Summary: Years after the Doctor says goodbye to Martha, she finds the Tardis in a London alley.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	Vitamins

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written in August 2016

Martha was walking down a busy London street. She was enjoying herself, having just returned from half-way round the world to what was still her home town. Since she and Mickey had gone freelance, they’d been everywhere on their little planet – the jungles of South America one week, the tundra of northern Russia the next. While none of that was quite the same as standing on a different planet, it suited Martha just fine. 

For now, all she had to worry about was getting the groceries home in time, so Mickey could cook dinner. It was, after all, his turn. Martha allowed herself a wry smile. Mickey always made dinner as if they were still in some inhospitable place being chased by aliens, even during the rare times when they weren’t. With that came another habit: always buying supplies as if they would need to survive off of them for three weeks; which is to say, he always bought too much and usually nothing that would spoil within three days. Martha considered trying to force-feed him a smoothie of fresh fruits and vegetables later.

While she was still considering all her options in getting the both of them enough vitamins in a healthy and easy way, Martha suddenly noticed a flash of blue from the corner of her eye. It had been years since she’d last seen a blue police box disappear from view, but still she was attuned to that particular shade. She backtracked a few steps to look into a narrow alleyway. 

A few moments later, she was standing in front of the familiar shape of a blue police box. Martha’s keen eyes had already spotted the subtle differences, but the welcoming hum that trembled through the wood made this box unmistakable. 

Softly, she laid one hand against the Tardis, the other still carrying the groceries. A slight grin made its way onto her face. Soon, the groceries were on the ground, and both of Martha’s hands were working in concert to find her Tardis-key. 

Since the Doctor himself hadn’t come bounding out yet, Martha decided that it was safe to go in. Once the door opened, however, Martha stopped and stared. Once she’d stared enough, she quickly picked up her groceries and made her way inside, closing the door behind her. 

As she made her way up the ramp, now made of glass, she complimented the Tardis. 

“Your new interior is beautiful.” 

The Tardis, in response, hummed contentedly in the back of her mind. 

“Well, assuming it is new and you’re not a previous version I never saw.” 

Even as she said it, Martha realized this to be unlikely, since the Tardis obviously knew who she was. The Tardis rumbled a bit. 

While Martha’s time at UNIT had made her familiar with the concept of regeneration for the Doctor, the regeneration of the Tardis had never been properly described. The fact that the ship had changed her interior so drastically didn’t bode very well for what had happened since she last saw the Doctor. Therefore, Martha decided it would be best to make sure they were both alright. 

“Why did you change the interior, though? I mean, I really like the new look, but I loved the coral theme, too,” she questioned the Tardis, looking up at the central column. With a bit of a huff and a rather mournful sound, the Tardis showed Martha an image of fire in her mind’s eye. 

“That looks bad. What caused it?” Martha inquired, now slightly shocked. 

The question wasn’t answered immediately. Instead, things became rather silent for a bit. Even the always present background hum caused by the Tardis’ presence in her mind seemed to fade. This caused Martha’s worry to spike. All kinds of possibilities started running through her head. 

The Tardis, seemingly noticing Martha’s distress, lit up the display on the central column. There, she showed all the Doctor’s faces, from the first all the way to his current face. It took Martha a few seconds to notice this, but once she did, understanding soon dawned. 

“So he did regenerate. Always thought he might have, after that thing with the Sontaran sniper. I didn’t think it could cause such harm…” She petered out and looked down. Something occurred to Martha just then. 

“But what of Donna, then? And Rose, and the Metacrisis? They didn’t get hurt, did they?”

While the Tardis’ response was an obvious negative to that question, it was still tinged with sadness and, dare she say it, loneliness. 

“Were they even there?” she tentatively asked. 

Another mournful negative before the Tardis retreated again. 

Martha understood that her line of inquiry was uncomfortable for the Tardis. Still, it took her a bit to draw enough of her own conclusions so she wouldn’t have to ask the ship anymore. Only one question remained. 

“He’s not alone now, is he?” Martha whispered, eyes looking at the center column pleadingly. 

The Tardis’ response came very promptly. The image of a young redhead flashed in her mind. Then, an image of the redhead, the new Doctor, and another bloke Martha didn’t know. It was, however, rather obvious that the three of them were having a good time. This made Martha sigh in relief. 

It was a full minute before Martha spoke up again, this time starting on lighter topics. Martha learned of all the places the Tardis had been since they’d last seen one another, and the Tardis came to know everything about the alien invasions of Earth she’d missed out on. 

All in all, a full 67 minutes had passed when the Tardis suddenly started humming a little louder. Soon after, the screen lit up, showing the trio that now inhabited the Tardis on their way back towards her. Martha nodded in understanding. Just as she was about to leave, she remembered something. Quickly, she dug into her grocery bags, and pulled out a banana and a pear. Putting them on either end of the console, she winked at the Tardis. Then, she made her way out, putting her hand on the wooden frame one last time in a silent goodbye. 

After that, there was only just enough time to round a corner before the current inhabitants of the most wondrous ship in the universe came into view. 

Martha didn’t stay, even though she heard some confused shouting coming from the Tardis. She hurried home to make the healthiest dinner she and Mickey had had in at least two months, using the recipe the Tardis had given her.


End file.
